LAXMI TRADERS LIMITED Vs. STATE OF MAHARASTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Two company petition, bearing Nos. 366 of 1983 and 142 of 1984, have come up for final hearing whilst Petition No. 388 of 1985 has come up for admission. The petitioner in each of the matters seeks a winding-up order against the respondent company, Shri Laxmi Traders Limited.

(2.) I shall first deal with tHe subject-matter of Company Petition No. 366 of 1983 and then with the subject-mater of Company petition No. 142 of 1984 and thereafter with Company Petition No.388 of 1985, in that order.

(3.) In so far as Petition No.366 of 1983 i concerned, it is the petitioners' case that the respondent-company owed to the petitioners a sum of Rs. 2,24,797.39, that the petitioners gave the usual statuary notice, but the same was no complied with by the company and hence he petitioners filed the petition. The petition, in its usual course, came up for admission and on August 31, 1983, consent terms were arrived at. Under the said consent terms, the company agreed to pay the dues of the petitioners by installments as specified in the said consent terms. The consent terms also provided that if the respondents committed defaults as specified in the consent terms, the petition would stand admitted, and the petitioners were at liberty to insert the necessary advertisements as provided for in the aid consent terms. It appears that thereafter the respondent-company did make some payments to the petitioners, but none the less committed defaults in payment of other installments. By reason of these defaults, the petition stood admitted and the petitioners became entitled to insert the necessary advertisements. The matter again came on board at that stage, when the respondent company appeared, and it was argued on behalf of the respondent-company, that the respondent-company had taken on lease a processing unit belonging to Podar Mills Limited and all the work of the respondent-company was being carried out in the said processing house unit. That this processing house unit of Podar Mills Limited was taken over on October 18, 1983, under the Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act had also taken charge of the assets of the respondent-company lying in the said processing house unit although wrongly and illegally. That by reason of this take over, the respondentcompany could not carry on business and hence could no meet its liabilities under the consent terms. That no purpose would be served by the proceedings for the winding up of the company, more particularly because it would not be for the benefit of the company's creditors. That, in view of all this, the petitioning creditors ought not to be allowed to insert any advertisement with regard to the petition. This application was resisted by the petitioners. By an order dated July 26, 1985, the contention of the respondent-company was negatived. The necessary advertisements have once appeared in the papers, but I am informed that these were in Petition No 142 of 1984, and in view of the same, the advertising of this petition (i.e. Petition no. 366 of 1983) was dispensed with. The said petition has now come up for final hearing.